Ambassador’s Youth Council Leadership Program – Kansai Chapter (Japan)

Deadline: 31 March 2024

The U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe’s Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition for organizations to submit applications to design, implement, and oversee the sixth cohort of the Ambassador’s Youth Council – Kansai Chapter (AYC), a youth leadership program that targets undergraduate students from U.S. Consulate Osaka-Kobe’s consular district who are highly-motivated and who demonstrate leadership and interest in the United States and the U.S.-Japan relationship.

Proposals should account for 20 participating students who are engaged in program activities over six months.

Program Objectives

Twenty Japanese undergraduate students will be selected for the 2024 cohort and over the course of the year be offered interactions with U.S. and Japanese foreign policy officials, visits to American and Japanese government facilities in Japan, and regular opportunities to network with alumni cohorts in both Kansai and Tokyo.
AYC aims to strengthen the U.S.-Japan alliance by giving young Japanese emerging leaders a deeper understanding of the United States and the U.S.-Japan alliance, while enhancing their leadership and collective problem-solving skills.
Suggested programmatic elements (some of which have been incorporated for past cohorts) include:
- Regular virtual sessions alternating between academic experts and diplomats on a wide range of topics such as national security, environmental policy, gender equality, space exploration, and more, designed to deepen the knowledge on each topic and demonstrate the power of U.S.-Japan cooperation in these spheres.
- Assign readings and critical writing assignments on topics specific to U.S. foreign policy and U.S.-Japan relations.
- Facilitate sessions for members to fortify learning, exercise presentation skills, and share knowledge and opinions.
- A micro grants program that will provide select members of the current cohort or past alumni with funding to forward their own initiatives related to promoting the benefits of the alliance.
- Build a successful university ecosystem around the program that can sustain it into the future. These partner universities will be engaged to help promote the program, solicit applicants, provide expert speakers, and more.
- Engage past AYC cohort alumni and offer opportunities for networking among current and past participants.

Funding Information

Award amounts: Maximum $75,000.

Duration

Length of performance period: Up to 12 months.

Eligibility Criteria

Participants and Audiences
- Japanese undergraduate students who are highly motivated, proficient in English, and demonstrate leadership and interest in the United States and U.S.-Japan relations. U.S. Consulate General Osaka-Kobe and the grantee will select finalists from applications received.
Eligible Applicants
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
  - Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/nongovernmental organizations
  - Public and private educational institutions
  - Public International Organizations and Governmental institutions
  - Individuals
Other Eligibility Requirements
- In order to be eligible to receive an award, all organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI).
- Applicants are only allowed to submit one proposal per organization. If more than one proposal is submitted from an organization, all proposals from that institution will be considered ineligible for funding.